Autocomplete

A screenplay says the same names and places over and over, and they have to be spelled the same way every time. As you type a character’s name or a scene heading, Calmly Script proposes the rest of it, in grey after the caret, from what the script already holds.

Accepting a suggestion

• TabTab or →→ accepts it.
• On a touch screen, tap it. Anywhere to the right of the caret on that line counts, so the tap does not have to land on the grey letters.
• EscEsc dismisses it.
• Anything else ignores it: keep typing and it follows what you type, or goes away when nothing matches.

Enter↩ does not accept a suggestion. Type MAR and press Enter, and the line says MAR: a name only goes into your script when you ask for it.

The suggestion is not in the document until you accept it. Accepting it is one step, so one Ctrl+Z⌘Z takes the line back to what you had typed.

Accepting also writes the name the way the script already spells it, capitals and accents included: with MARÍA in the script, mari and TabTab give MARÍA. A name in mixed case, such as McDONALD, comes back with the @ in front that keeps it from being put in capitals (see How the editor decides).

What it completes

On a line that is	It suggests	From
character	the names already used as characters; after a (, the extensions such as (V.O.), (O.S.) and (CONT'D)	your script; the extensions from the app’s language
scene heading, at the start	the opener: INT., EXT. …	the app’s language
scene heading, after the opener	the places already used in headings	your script
scene heading, after -	the time of day: DAY, NIGHT, CONTINUOUS …	your script first, then the app’s language
transition, chosen with Tab or the menu	CUT TO:, FADE OUT. …	the app’s language
parenthetical	the parentheticals already used	your script
title page	the keys: Title:, Author:, Draft date: …	the app’s language

It never suggests anything in action or dialogue. That is the writing, and it is yours.

A name comes from the current scene first, then from the rest of the script, the ones you use most ahead of the others. The character who spoke just before comes after the rest, since a speech is seldom followed by another from the same person. Places and parentheticals are simply the ones you use most.

The words from the app’s language are the ones listed in Other languages.

When it appears

A suggestion answers a key you press, never a click: it appears after you type or delete a character, and only when the caret is at the end of the line. Clicking into a half-typed name, or opening a document, shows nothing.

For a character’s name one letter is enough; everywhere else it waits for two. After a (, it suggests at once.

The one letter has a side effect: on a character line with a single letter typed there is usually a suggestion, so TabTab accepts it instead of changing the element. To change the element there, use Shift+Tab⇧Tab, which never accepts, press EscEsc and then TabTab, or use a shortcut such as Ctrl+2⌘2.

Turning it off

Autocomplete is on from the start. To turn it off, open Settings › Writing aids and switch off Autocomplete. It takes effect at once (see Writing aids, text and sound).